It's basically Yogi Tea or Masala Chai which we then whizz in the blender to give it that frothy top. Every Kundalini Yogi household serves Yogi Tea but I never really liked it. The breakthrough came when we started to give it that modern twist and put the bubbles on the top. Even better, sometimes I sprinkle it with cocoa powder :) and serve it with a glass of water.
If you don't feel like making up your own batch from scratch then you please go and buy yourself some Yogi Tea bags. There are always great quotations from Yogi Bhajan on them and some Kundalini Yoga exercises on the box. There are lots of different varieties too.
If you want to make up your own, as we do, here's how:
- A large saucepan
- 2 litres of water
- 1 heaped tablespoon of green cardamon pods (about 24 pods)
- 1 teaspoon of cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns
- 6 cinnamon sticks or 60g of bark
- 4-6" of root ginger to taste
- 2-4 black tea bags (important because it stimulates the digestive system)
Add all the spices, except the tea bags, to the water in the pan and bring to the boil. Then boil vigorously for 20 minutes.
Add the tea bags and boil for 2 more minutes. Add 3-6 cups of whole milk (this pads the stomach and neutralises some of the spices). Bring back to the boil.
As soon as it boils strain the whole mixture, add honey to taste (I don't).
Secret tip: before adding the milk use a wooden spoon to crush the cardammon pods and squeeze the juice out of them - be careful it's hot!
It makes about 10 cups
PS the very first time I met Yogi Bjhajan I was cleaning out a large pot of Yogi Tea which had burnt the spices onto the bottom of it - I highly recommend straining the spices and not ruining your saucepan :)
The very best Chai that I've ever been served was in the little cafe behind the Golden Temple Complex. It was early morning, the dawn had just changed the Golden Temple's clothing. I was drying out from having completed 11 rounds of walking all round the parkarma (marble surround) and 11 dips in the sarovar (sacred tank of water in which the Golden Temple itself sits) in my underwear and then putting my clothes back on top. The Chai was served with hot buttered toast. Once I was dry enough I went into the Golden Temple itself to meditate on the top floor lulled into another world by the music, the warmth of the sun and the deep peace within. The most divine breakfast I could ever imagine.
